


wake up

by sugacube



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, an AU where akechi lives after the phantom thieves' assault on the final palace, there's a mention of implied pedophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 16:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10768269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugacube/pseuds/sugacube
Summary: Days passed, turning into weeks, as Akechi rotted away in that hospital. Evidently, the Phantom Thieves had fabricated some sort of story as to why Akechi wasn’t going to school, as he received an obnoxious amount of letters from different Shujin High students, most of their names he’d never even heard of. “Get well soon,” “We miss you,” “I hope you come back soon,” Akechi sighed drearily. None of them really knew him, so why miss him?





	wake up

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy... i haven't written anything for this account in a million years;; but i'm hoping to get back into writing more often

_“W… up… Wake... up…. Akechi..”_

Akechi’s eyes snapped open, his mouth opening in a silent cry as he shot upright. Dark red eyes gazed about, taking in his surroundings-- Well, except there wasn’t a lot to take in. Stretching around him as far as he could see was a void of white. The ground beneath him was… terribly cold. Was he dead?

It hurt to remember. Akechi’s memories came to him in fragmented shards. A gun, a mirror of himself, the horrified eyes of his lover-- His lover… Akira. Could he even still call Akira that? He’d tried to kill him, along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

His gaze wandered around again, hoping that maybe he’d missed something that would give him a clue as to where he was. His heart practically leapt out of his chest when something- no, someone, had suddenly appeared.

“A-Akira?! When did-- did you…” Akechi felt sick. If he was dead, then...

The boy in question simply smiled warmly at him, the same as he always had. Akechi didn’t deserve a smile like that. He was… filthy. Rotten to the core. Akira wasn’t like him at all.. Not in the least. He was free.

“Akechi… you’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” Akechi inhaled sharply in surprised, thrusted out of his thoughts by the warmth he suddenly felt on his cheeks. Akira was there, suddenly, cupping his cheeks softly. It was warm.. So warm.

Imagination-Akira (that’s what Akechi had settled on calling him, since this was most certainly a figment of his imagination. There was no way Akira could have gotten killed, right?) leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the other’s.

“...You’ve been through a lot.. but it’s not time for you to go yet.” Akechi felt a slight pinch of pain as the other applied a bit of pressure on his cheeks. “You need to wake up.”

Akechi gazed away uneasily. “I-- I can’t, Akira.. I’m a coward, you know..? I can’t-- face you, or the others… S-Surely it’d be better if I.. simply disappeared? You all.. finished my goal for me.. Shido is ruined. There’s no reason for me to exist.”

“You need to wake up,” Imagination-Akira insisted, “wake up and talk to the others. Your job isn’t finished yet.”

“Not finished yet? What do you-- Hey, wait..!” Akechi cried, thrusting his hand forward as his lover suddenly began to fade away. Around him, the white was receding away, replaced by utter darkness. “Don’t go-- Don’t go, I don’t want to be alone!”

“You just need to open your eyes. Wake up, Akechi.. Wake up…”

“Wake up, please…!”

Akechi’s eyes shot open, but closed again quickly, blinded by how bright the room was. A stifled groan of pain escaped from him as he slowly squinted his eyes open once again. His vision wasn’t doing very much, but he still had other senses.. The smell of antiseptic, some sort of obnoxious beeping… _‘A hospital?’_ He thought hazily.

He looked around sluggishly, wishing that his eyes would focus already. Akechi shifted, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind faster. He squinted, his gaze settling on some sort of blackish.. blob beside his bed. He reached out, trying to touch the blobby figure, to see if he could pick out what it was from touch alone.

The figure was apparently surprised by this, because it jerked away from his hand, making an alarmed noise. So it was a person, that much he could deduce. But who?

“Y-You’re awake..” The other stammered, approaching again. The voice was familiar. Soft… and so, so warm.

His vision was just beginning to come into focus when the other quickly closed the distance between them, hugging Akechi in a steel-tight grip. He’d had his suspicions on who it was, but…. The distinct scent of coffee lingering on the other’s clothes made him sure on the other’s identity. That just made him even sicker. Why was he here? Better yet… why had he even survived? Knowing Akira, he had something to do with it.

“I’m so glad you’re awake. You’re okay. Ryuji told me not to-- said it’d take to long to get you out, because the whole place was falling apart, but I wasn’t having that.” Akira’s words came out hastily, almost like he was short on breath. He was nervous.

Akechi began to bring his arms up to reciprocate the other’s hug, but let them fall back into his lap. He couldn’t bring himself to touch Akira, let alone look at him. What if he tainted the other? Akechi wouldn’t be able to live with himself. He could hardly live with himself right now.

Akira, apparently sensing his distress, slowly pulled away and fell silent. Ah.. he must’ve made things awkward. As if it couldn’t get any worse.

...Apparently it could get worse. He flinched as Akira spoke up again. “Listen… Akechi, you don’t.. need to blame yourself. That wasn’t your fault. None of this was. It was your fathe--... Shido. He’s the one to blame.”

The more Akira spoke, the more Akechi’s frustration built, until he simply couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped his head up to look Akira in the eye.  
“But it was my fault, Akira! It was! Every single bit of it-- If I… wasn’t so obsessed with my stupid little plan on revenge on my father for.. For everything he did, you all wouldn’t have-- been hurt, and..” Akechi felt tears pool up in his eyes, and he looked away, rubbing his eyes aggressively.

“..I put up with.. H-his disgusting hands on me… for so long. And for what? A failed plan, the only friends I’d ever had hating me, and my boyfriend hating me too…” His voice quivered before breaking off into a weak sob. He ducked his head, hiding his face from the other with his forearm. Akechi continued his voice softer now. “...I never deserved any of you. If you’d have known.. known everything about my past, then surely you wouldn’t have--”

Akechi was cut off, startled, by Akira once again wrapping his arms around him. The other tugged his arm away from his face, pressing a slightly forced kiss against his lips to silence him. Akechi wriggled, jerking his head away. “What are you doing? Don’t… Don’t, I...”

Akira, evidently, wasn’t listening, as he kissed Akechi again. He’d always been like that, hadn’t he? Less words, more actions. Akechi went slack against the other, feeling tears run down his face as Akira finally backed off.

But he wasn’t done, apparently. “Hold on. Akechi.. I don’t hate you. None of us do.. Ryuji is a little bit mad, but he’ll get over it. I think.” Akira paused, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I think.. Ann and the others wanted to visit too. But they couldn’t make it. That was probably for the best. Haru thought you’d get overwhelmed. Would you mind if they visited, Akechi?”

Akechi felt sick. Akira was obviously trying very hard not to make him feel worse, but all Akechi could think about was every single thing he’d done wrong. “..Fine,” he mumbled, his hair obscuring his face, “...they can come if they want. Now.. Could you leave, please? I feel.. a little sick.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. There was a horrible ache in his side, which made him nauseous.

Akira obviously wasn’t happy about what he’d said, as the expression on his face fell. Disappointment, maybe? Akechi watched, his heart tight, as the other got up and exited, casting him one last glance from the doorway before he went.

…

Days passed, turning into weeks, as Akechi rotted away in that hospital. Evidently, the Phantom Thieves had fabricated some sort of story as to why Akechi wasn’t going to school, as he received an obnoxious amount of letters from different Shujin High students, most of their names he’d never even heard of. “Get well soon,” “We miss you,” “I hope you come back soon,” Akechi sighed drearily. None of them really _knew_ him, so why miss him?

Akira visited almost every day during his stay at the hospital, occasionally bringing others with him. He was almost shocked at how kind they acted to him, like he hadn’t tried to murder them. Well.. except Ryuji. Akechi didn’t think Ryuji would ever forgive him.

It was an especially rainy day when Akechi was finally discharged from the hospital. Part of him didn’t want to leave at all. He’d been told specifically not to stay alone by himself. Something about needing someone with him in case the stitching tore, internal bleeding… In any case, there was no one else he was willing to stay with, or _could_ stay with, besides Akira.

That was how he found himself in the attic of Leblanc, seated beside Akira on his bed as the other rambled on about something class-related. Akechi was trying his best to listen, but between the hospital drugs still wearing off and his raging anxiety, it was practically impossible.

He flinched as he felt fingers thread through his hair, pulling him flush against Akira’s side. A shaky exhale escaped his lips as the other ran his fingers through his hair. _‘Ah… damn him.’_ Akechi thought frustratedly. He couldn’t help but relax whenever Akira touched his hair.

“I’m trying to mope.” Akechi murmured, but couldn’t help the smile that worked its way onto his face as he felt Akira plant a kiss on the crown of his head. It was always like this, wasn’t it? Whenever Akechi was sad or upset.. Akira could always make it better, at least for a little while.

“You can’t mope when I’m here. I’m the president of the ‘Make Akechi Happy’ club. It’s a real club, did you know that?”

“...Is it really? I haven’t heard of it.”

“No, I was fucking with you.” Akechi scowled up at the other, provoking a laugh from him. “But did you know that there’s a Pancake Club?”

Akechi’s eyes lit up. “Really?!”

“No, I was fucking with you again.”

“...I suddenly feel very tired. I’m going to sleep, goodnight.”

“Wait, hold on-- Akechi… Akechi!!”


End file.
